When members of the U.S. Air Force deploy to a combat zone or on another mission, the Air Force prepares them for the possibility of combat through the Combat Airmen Skills Training course, or CAST. The 10-day CAST courses are conducted at Camp Bullis in Texas, Camp Guernsey in Wyoming, or Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.

The CAST Course

In 2009, the Air Education and Training Command created the Combat Airmen Skills Training course to standardize predeployment combat training for Air Force personnel. Many airmen serve in non-combat roles such as engineering, accounting or public affairs. Airmen in these positions usually have little experience with handling firearms and little or no knowledge of battlefield conditions. For example, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had no definable front line area, and attacks occurred on bases, in classrooms and during transit from one base to another. CAST is designed to give airmen the basic combat training they would need to survive an attack in one of these situations.

Expert Instruction

CAST courses are conducted at Army facilities like Camp Bullis and Camp Guernsey, or at the joint Army and Air Force facility in New Jersey. However, the training is conducted by airmen with expertise in combat situations or security. Training is also provided by civilian contractors with prior military experience, including snipers and former infantry combat soldiers. The training is focused on the most important basics of how to survive in a combat situation.

Combat Survival

Air Force predeployment training includes material on how to respond to a sudden attack, how to communicate effectively with other airmen under fire, how to move together under fire and how to spot an improvised explosive device or other threat. CAST training is designed to enable airmen to survive the attack so they can keep doing their usual non-combat job such as strategic planning or engineering. Weapons familiarity is stressed throughout the 10-day course, so that airmen with limited prior experience using firearms will feel comfortable with them if they are needed in the deployment zone.

Course Outline

The CAST course begins with classroom time, followed by training in the low crawl in full gear. The trainees progress to movement and communication exercises carrying M16 or M4 rifles loaded with blanks, followed by scenario training to prepare them for a variety of combat situations such as an ambush, an explosion or a sniper attack. The trainees are expected to be able to make quick and intelligent tactical decisions when under attack. Air Force trainers have reported that airmen who were initially very uncomfortable with their weapons usually show considerable improvement by the end of the course.